Navigating New York

New York City has always intimidated me. Exciting, yes, especially during the holidays. But it's one of those places that stomps all over you while you stop to marvel at the skyscrapers.

My memories from previous trips to New York include getting ripped off by cab drivers who refused to take us the most direct route to our destination. They salivate when they spot a tourist. And everything is so much more expensive in New York!

So I wasn't thrilled when my husband suggested spending Thanksgiving weekend in New York City. A friend's daughter was marching in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and he wanted to go there to show hometown support.

Also, my sister-in-law owns an apartment in the City. She said we could stay there… except… She'd been renovating the bathroom for six months, and it still wasn't done. Not only was there no shower curtain (or anything to hang it from) but the toilet had not yet been installed.

Not confident that the bathroom would be finished in time for our visit, we decided to book a hotel. My husband shopped around, pronounced the Manhattan hotel rates exorbitant, and booked a Hampton Inn across the river in New Jersey. Nice property, but it was across the river in New Jersey. Even with the bargain rate, we'd be spending almost $400 on accommodations, not to mention transportation to and from the City each day. We were excited that the hotel had a shuttle to the Newark airport. But it was only TO the Newark airport. When we arrived, we'd be on our own to get to the hotel. Ka-ching!

Fortunately, my sister-in-law's toilet was installed at the eleventh hour, so we were able to cancel our hotel reservations and stay at the apartment. Free accommodations in a central location. Much better. Next problem was figuring out how to get there.

Working for the airlines, we fly space available. We knew there was a train from the JFK airport into Manhattan, but the flights looked better to LaGuardia. No one could tell us anything about public transportation into the City from LaGuardia—other than cabs.

When we arrived LaGuardia, we found a Visitor Information desk. After the attendant got off the phone, she turned out to be quite helpful. She told us we could buy a Metro card from a machine at the airport and then get on the E train; there was a stop only about three blocks from the apartment. A public bus, the Q70, links the LaGuardia airport with the Metro station (Jackson Heights / Roosevelt Avenue).

It costs $1.00 to purchase a Metro card, and then you have to fill it. Ours is good for a little over a year, and we can keep refilling it in ten-dollar increments until it expires. The woman at the Visitor Center suggested starting with the minimum amount since rides are only $2.75 each. The bus link is also $2.75, but supposedly you can get transfers to and from the subway. The bus link was free during Thanksgiving week, so we didn't have to figure out how to do a transfer. We got into town for $5.50 and walked to my sister-in-law's apartment from the subway station. I was feeling much better about our trip's affordability!

New York is a great city for exploring on foot, but it's huge, so the Metro card came in handy when we had to travel a long distance in a relatively short time. When we went out with my husband's two sisters, we took cabs. Depending on the distance, a cab was almost as cheap as for the four of us to ride the Metro. The secret was to catch the cab going in the correct direction and get out a block or two shy of the destination if it meant avoiding extra traffic lights and U-turns. It helps to know the City which, fortunately, my sister-in-law does.

We found New Yorkers very helpful—from subway workers, to shopkeepers, to policemen. I left feeling much more comfortable with the city, and willing to go back. After all, I still have a Metro card.

Sharon Marchisello is the author of Live Well, Grow Wealth